Hinkley Park, a popular sports complex in Park Ridge, may soon get a designated drop-off spot off Busse Highway following a car accident and resident requests.
At the June 1 committee of the whole meeting, the city council agreed that parents needed a protected area to drop off their kids during sports activities. The park has a pool, tennis courts, baseball fields, a football field and more. Public Works Director Sarah Mitchell brought the ordinance to the board after parents asked for a drop-off lane, instead of having to stop on Busse Highway and block traffic.
“They’re stopping in a traffic lane, which technically they shouldn’t be doing, but we’re trying to make it as safe as possible,” she said. A few weeks ago, someone stopped on Busse got rear ended as they let people out at the park.
At present, there are a series of parallel parking spots off the highway, and some of those will be turned into a drop-off area, designated by a sign. The status would be temporary, only during the summer and fall months in the evenings.
“The sign would say no parking, loading and unloading only, or something like that,” Mitchell told the board. “You can pull into it but you can’t exit your vehicle.”
Initially, the proposed zone was 60 feet, but after some discussion, the council decided to include another portion of the parking area, so the total would be 120 feet. Mitchell said this would be about six parking spaces’ worth of area.
“There’s also a fire hydrant that will give us some extra space,” added Alderperson John Moran.
The measure passed unanimously, though final approval requires another vote. The temporary zone should begin immediately and will run through Thanksgiving.
“I think we can adjust it down the road if we need to,” said Moran.
Mitchell said she didn’t anticipate any pushback from residents. That parking area isn’t used for commuter parking and Moran said it doesn’t seem to be used by residents or their guests—the closest homes are on a different block altogether.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
